The Princess' Protector
by her ocean eyes
Summary: AU. The night Princess Emma was born was the night Captain Hook vanished into thin air. 22 years later Killian Jones is back with two hands and ready to turn a certain princess' world around. This opportunity is given to him by her parents who hire him as "The Princess' Protector". Soon the former pirate and the princess form a strong bond that can't be broken, can it? Captain Swan
1. Prologue

_**A/N: So this is the AU I've been talking about on tumblr. This story is going to be a multi-chapter fanfiction with about ten chapters and I hope you enjoy reading.**_

_Disclaimer: None of this is mine, not the characters, not the storyline. When it would be Meghan would be on-screen like forever and Emma and Killian would already be canon._

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**Prologue**

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She ran through the forest as fast as she could, occasionally throwing a haunted look over her shoulder. Branches were breaking underneath her rash steps, leaves were rustling as the seam of her light-blue dress brushed over them. Her breathing was ragged and sped up, her facial expression twisted in something between panic and desperation.

The blond woman almost fell as she tripped over a root which was partly on the surface, her dress got caught up in the wood, ripped, the silk and satin shredded, a large piece of fabric remained on the root, leaving her left shin bare and uncovered but even though she barely caught herself from colliding with the ground she didn't stop. Instead she ran faster, gathered the fabric of her dress, still running faster until the forest became thicker, until the trees stood closer to each other. The branches hitting her in the face, leaving a cut on her cheek and some more on her shins. The woman let the fabric fall and lifted one arm in front of her face to provide any further damage but she still didn't stop. Her free hand wrapped around the right side of her dress, lifting the skirt higher so the fabric wasn't in her way while she ran.

She shot another panicked glance over her shoulder and this one glance was her undoing. She stumbled again and this time she really fell. The only thing that stopped her face from crashing to the ground were her arms. Her hands broke her fall but while her right hand stopped her fall successfully her left hit the sharp edge of a stone which cut her skin. She rolled on her back, clasping her hand over her mouth to stifle the pained cry that escaped her throat. She clenched her wounded hand and in the moment of silence she heard the noise she was afraid to hear. Footsteps. Foreign footsteps - and they were coming closer fast. With her right hand still clasped over her mouth she scrambled backwards clumsily, her right hand her only support while she held the left one close to her chest, letting it stain the smooth fabric of her light blue corset in dark crimson. She only stopped when her back hit a tree and then she pressed herself against it. The woman tried to get her breathing under control while the steps came closer. Her heart beat in her chest so frantically she could barely hear what was happening in the forest because she the only thing she could hear was her heartbeat and her blood rushing through her veins.

She squeezed her eyes shut trying to do what her father taught her when she was about five years old. She had to focus, had to block out what she was feeling and had to concentrate on the stranger's footsteps. She took a deep breath and focused. The footsteps came closer and closer. The noise of a sword being drawn found its way into her consciousness and immediately she tensed even more. There was no way she could defend herself, she had nothing but her torn silk dress and - Her green eyes shot open and she lifted her right hand to her head, pulling a hairpin out of her golden curls that immediately spilled over her bare shoulders. Then, all of a sudden, a voice cut through the nightly silence of the forest.

"Princess!"

The blond shut her eyes again, tears welling up behind her closed eyelids. She knew the voice. _Of course_ she did. How could she not? She has known this man for quite some time now. She clasped her left, bloody hand over her mouth again, muffling the cry that threatened to escape her throat and that surely would betray her whereabouts as the steps came closer.

"Princess?" the same voice yelled again, softer than before.

Even though her eyes were closed the tears slipped out of them and streamed down her face. Her right hand gripped the hairpin tighter, holding onto it like a lifeline and that was exactly what it felt like. His steps were now only a few feet away, if she made any sound now he would find her.

"Emma?"

He didn't yell anymore which meant he knew she was close. But the softness in his tone surprised her. She had thought that after she found out about his past he would become the man she heard about. But she saw nothing but _him_ in him. The man who had vowed to protect her with his life in front of her parents and the whole kingdom. The man she trusted with all of her heart. _The man she shouldn't trust at all_.

The heart-breaking sob she had tried to hold back for what felt like an eternity finally escaped her throat. His footsteps immediately came closer and when she opened her eyes he stood in front of her, his sword in his hand, his ocean blue eyes fixed on hers.

"Emma," he whispered.

She could've sworn she saw relief in his eyes as he saw that she was well. At least as well as she could be in this moment. His eyes roamed over her, concern in his gaze as he checked her for any serious injuries.

"Don't come near me," she snapped and lifted the hand that still clutched the golden hairpin, ready to defend herself if she had to.

"Emma..." he sighed and reached out his hand.

Her eyes widened and when she looked up from his hand to his eyes again something inside her broke. Her knees gave out and she sunk against the tree trunk, her back scraping over the bark, leaving her skin red and grazed, her hands covered her face, her right hand still holding on to the golden hairpin. He crouched before her, his eyes still fixed on hers even though they were closed.

"Leave me alone, Hook," she sobbed.

The man in front of her flinched, his expression hurt.

"I can't," he whispered, his voice filled with pain and on the brink of breaking.

She opened her eyes, peeking through her fingers and meeting his eyes blue stare. Once upon a time she read in one of her favorite books that eyes were the mirrors to the human soul and in this moment she started to believe that it was true.

As she looked into his eyes she saw nothing but genuine concern and heartfelt pain. She knew she hurt him by calling him by his moniker. As a child she had heard thousand of stories about Neverland and Peter Pan - and about Captain Hook, the gruesome pirate captain. She would've never thought that her protector Killian Jones was the dreaded three-hundred-years-old pirate. After all Killian Jones was a knight, an honest man, her _protector_. She never knew him any differently. To her he has always been caring and kind. Of course he had an attitude her parents didn't fully approved - after all he was her bodyguard and not a suitor - but they had trusted him to protect her from any harm - from another heartbreak.

No one would have ever thought that the man who was going to protect her would be the one to break her heart. She had a hard time trusting someone and when she finally let someone behind her walls it was hard to get him out again. And Killian Jones had managed to get through to her. She had trusted him and she thought he had trusted her. She knew about his past - at least to some extent. She knew about Milah and that he wanted to kill the Dark One but she never knew about his past as a pirate. No one had thought it would be appropriate to tell her about this part of his past. Not even himself. And that was what had broken her heart.

"But I don't want to have you near me," she said brokenly.

"Emma, listen-"

He reached out to touch her and that was the moment she finally snapped. She lunged at him.

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_**Review?**_


	2. Change of Heart

_Disclaimer: None of this is mine, not the characters, not the storyline. When it would be Meghan would be on-screen like forever and Emma and Killian would already be cano- oh, right, Adam, Eddie, you did a great job._

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**Change of Heart**

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Snow White had always been a rather optimistic person but sometimes she wondered if it was worth it. All the fighting, all the losses, all the pain. The battle against Regina, the Evil Queen, had taken toll on all of them, they had all lost people who once meant so much to them and now were nothing more than a slowly fainting memory. _Leopold, Eva, Ruth, Stealthy..._ Just to name a few of them. Lost in thoughts she stroked over her baby bump, caressing it tenderly. Her unborn daughter kicked her as if to calm her and when she looked up from her belly because she heard footsteps coming closer she was sure her daughter had sensed her father approaching.

In the doorframe leaned her husband who looked at her with so much love in his eyes that all her previous doubts faded away. No matter what had happened or what would happen it was worth it. True love was worth fighting for, _dying_ for even. She had everything she had ever dreamed of and even more. They had taken the kingdom back, they had gotten married and now she was with his child. As if sensing her thoughts _again_ her daughter kicked her one more time and Snow felt a wide smile spreading on her face. Charming smiled back at her immediately, so tenderly and full of love that even after all this time her heart skipped a beat.

That was it.

_That was what true love felt like._

"Have you thought of a name yet?" her husband asked while he stepped into the room.

Snow stood up and took the last steps towards him until their bodies brushed against each other. She leaned against his chest, his arms wrapping around her naturally just as hers wrapped around him. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, one of his hands tangling in her long black hair, before he looked down at her again, his blue eyes boring into her green ones.

"A few. I've been thinking about Ruth, after your mother."

The smile he gave her was wide and dazzling and Snow could feel her heart stutter inside her chest. The effect he had on her was still the very same he had at the very beginning of their story.

"I would like that. But not as her first name."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Why not? It's your mother's name!"

"And what if I wanted to name her Eva?"

Snow blinked hastily a few times, her eyes suddenly very moist, unshed tears shimmering in them.

"You would do that?"

He lifted his hands up to her face and cupped it tenderly, his thumbs stroking over her cheeks gently.

"I would do anything for you."

With that he leaned down and kissed her on her lips. She kissed him back instantly and when they broke apart after quite a while they looked into each other's eyes again, their foreheads still pressed against each other.

"I love you," he whispered and watched the smile on her lips.

"I love you, too," she replied.

He tugged her in his arms again, holding her tightly. She felt safe there. Protected from all around her, from all the dangers that had been and would be. _The curse_. Should all their luck be taken away from them just like that? She didn't want to be alone again. She wanted to be with the people she loved. She wanted to be _whole_.

"Emma," she whispered suddenly.

Charming pulled away a bit and looked down at her with a light frown.

"What?"

She took one of her hands in his and placed it over her baby bump.

"Let's name her Emma."

"Emma?" he asked testing the name on his lips, then a smile spread on his lips. "Let's name her Emma."

"You like it?"

Charming laughed.

"I love it."

His hand caressed her belly again and she tilted her head, their lips mere inches apart when someone cleared his throat in front of the open door.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you but something of great importance happened," Johanna said.

Snow looked at her old nurse a frown on her face. Charming pressed one last kiss to her forehead, then took her hand in his and led her to their friend.

"What's the matter?" the king asked worried.

"Mulan, she... She caught someone on the way to the Evil Queen's castle. She's on her way here right now, the criminal in tow."

"The criminal?" Charming asked and exchanged a look with his wife.

"Which criminal?" Snow asked further.

Johanna shifted her weight uncomfortably. Looking up at the Queen she has known since she had been a little girl she pushed a strand of her reddish hair behind her ear.

"It's um-"

She hesitated for a moment and only when both, Snow and Charming shot her an expectant gaze, she spoke up again.

"Captain Hook."

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Hook was far more than frustrated. He had almost been there, almost made it. And then this strange warrior had shown up and had blown bloody _everything_. The soldier - he found out it was a woman just a short time after - had caught him on his way to the Dark Palace, where he knew the crocodile's love was being captured. That the demon even had a love surprised him more than anything. How could someone love a man like him? A coward. A wizard who used magic only to his advantage. And yet there was this girl. He had heard many things about her. She was supposed to be beautiful and kind-hearted. Hook was absolutely sure that the crocodile had bewitched her. How could anyone ever love the crocodile? Not even his own _wife_ had done so. Instead Milah had fallen in love with him and the reward for following her heart and her own free will was a ripped out and crushed heart. Nothing was left of her spirit, only her dead body and the dust of what once her heart. The woman he loved had been gone in the blink of an eye, leaving him behind empty and broken, with nothing to live for but his revenge and the burning hatred for the demon in his heart.

But instead of tracking down the dagger with the help of the Dark One's true love he was stomping through the forest with a strange Chinese warrior woman on the way to a castle he never really intended to go to.

His companion wasn't very talk-active and even though he was frustrated and bored he thought he could have had it worse. He could've been stuck with a talk-active man instead of this acceptable looking woman. And he _always_ enjoyed the company of a woman. At least superficially. He acted all flirty and cocky, the mask above the mask of Captain Hook but the truth was since Milah there had been no other woman. And there wouldn't be one. He cherished the memory of Milah and even though he had been tempted to be with a woman _many_ times to him it felt like dishonoring her memory. But he wouldn't dwell in lost things now, he had more important things to turn his attention to.

"Could you hurry up, love? I have other things to do," he said casually.

The smirk plastered on his face was as fake as it had been for the last three hundred years. The first two years in Neverland he hadn't smiled at all but then he ran into Pan and the Lost Boys and suddenly he was throwing fake, gruesome smirks that hurt to smile. Killian Jones had become a man who hid behind a mask, who was so hurt and so broken that there was nothing he had to live for, he only craved for his revenge on the man who killed his love. When Baelfire showed up it had been like a small part of his beloved Milah had returned to him. The cruel smirks had turned into genuine smiles for a few months. And then the boy had found out about him and Milah and from then everything headed south. Life had never been kind to him. It has always been cruel. His mother had died too early and his father had abandoned him, he had lost the woman he loved and her boy that he would have loved like his own son if he had only let him. Vengeance was the only thing that kept him alive. And there was nothing that was going to stop him. Except-

"And I have to take you to the Queen so she and her husband can sentence you," the strange woman answered.

"I will get away anyway," Hook muttered underneath his breath.

The warrior stopped tugging him along on the ropes she had wrapped around his wrists and turned around to him.

"Not on my watch," she said determined.

Her brown eyes bored into his icy blue ones. He shot her another sarcastic smirk but she just tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"You sure about that, love?"

She tugged at the ropes mercilessly, pulling him forwards with her so hard that the ropes cut into his wrists. Hook let out another growl, but he followed her - reluctantly of course.

"You come with me, no matter what, I won't let you go. We're only about a mile away anyway," she said brusquely.

Hook let out a frustrated huff. Well, maybe he could still get away with some treasures then.

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"So you are the infamous Captain Hook?"

Snow White eyed the pirate curiously while Charming next to her frowned at the obviously rather handsome pirate captain kneeling in front of them, just like the warrior next to him. The only difference between them was that the Chinese woman kneeled willingly while Hook was forced to. The pirate glanced up and shot the Royal Couple a smug smirk that didn't quiet reach his ice blue eyes, just like any other smirk that his lips had formed over the last three hundred years.

"So you've heard of me?" he quipped.

The beautiful Queen - the fairest of them all or so he had heard - shot him a wary glance with her green eyes, then glanced at the warrior and indicated to her that she was allowed to raise, which his captor almost immediately did.

"Everybody has, I guess," Charming intervened. "After all your reputation rushes ahead of you. Your list of crimes should be by far one of the longest ones I've ever seen, if not even the longest."

"Well, something _else_ of mine _is_ actually the longest."

Snow scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes. Charming barely stopped himself from jumping off the throne and attacking the pirate for throwing such an innuendo at his _pregnant_ wife. But the Queen just grabbed his hand and held onto it tightly, letting him bruise her fingers with his bone-crushing grip.

"Yeah, very funny, now back to the point," Charming said coldly.

Killian wiggled his eyebrows at him and winked at the Queen who just looked at the ceiling in annoyance, grabbing her husband's hand even tighter.

"And what do you and your lovely wife intend to do to me? You know, I'm not really in this three-"

The woman next to him, who had risen when the Queen allowed her to and still gripped his shoulder to hold him down, tightened her grip so much that it actually _hurt_. Not that he minded. Pain was an old friend. A constant reminder that he was alive. Sometimes the only reminder. He had never hurt himself and he would never do so, but the phantom pain in his stump where his left hand once had been often was enough. And the phantom pain was worse than many others he had endured during his long life.

"You will face the consequences of the things you have done. The council will judge you for your atrocities."

Hook's demeanor changed. He straightened up, his flirty, smug expression disappeared and behind the flirty mask the gruesome Captain Hook was showing. Cold, scheming, always seeking for an advantage. His ice blue eyes were turning even colder, sharper. He turned his left wrist, his hook catching the sunlight, shimmering dangerously.

"And what makes you think I would obey you?" he sneered.

Snow's gaze flickered to her husband, then to the back of the room. The captain was tempted to turn his had to look at the person the Queen's eyes were fixed on. But he didn't. Instead he looked at the King, looked him straight in the eyes, blue meeting blue, gazes crossing like swords, fighting a battle that neither one of them was willing to give up. But the King won as a winning smile appeared on his lips. For a moment Hook wanted to frown, but instead he looked away, at the Queen whose attention was fixed on him again. She tilted her head to the side, a small smile ghosting on his lips.

"We have some _friends_ who won't let you get away."

"You mean like the warrior woman? If my eyes haven't been set on the task I'm on she wouldn't have a chance to catch me," he said dismissively.

"Maybe. But obviously you were distracted and you won't get away from here any time soon. Not with the upcoming full moon since you will have some trouble getting away from a werewolf."

For a moment Hook was honestly surprised, not that the surprise would have shown on his face. He still looked cold and gruesome, ready to fight every moment. Certainly he would if it wasn't for the woman who still had him on her knees with her tight grip on his shoulder. But the man behind the mask was quiet impressed. The Queen had befriended a werewolf? Then she really had to be the optimistic person everyone thought she was. That thought impressed him. He wasn't used to good people. Not after everything he had been through during the three hundred plus years he had lived. Especially after his time in Neverland where _everything_ was as cruel and deadly as it was beautiful. And Neverland was really beautiful. And its inhabitants were just as dangerous. There were no good people _at all_. And now he was face to face with a kind person and honestly he didn't know what to do.

"So what do you want to do with me now, your majesty?" he asked mockingly.

Snow White and Charming exchanged a quick glance.

"Mulan?"

"Yes?" the warrior woman said.

"Throw him into prison until the council passes sentence. Then you are free to go, I suppose Philip and Aurora are missing you already."

"But- Snow you said you were in need of my services?"

The Queen smiled kindly at the Chinese warrior.

"Not anymore. And we are not going to keep you away from home any longer."

Mulan bowed to the Royal Couple one last time, then she pulled Hook up with her roughly. She grabbed the rope his wrists were still bound with and went out of the throne room leaving the pirate no choice but to follow her. He caught a glimpse of the person the Queen had been looking to by talking about her _friends_. It was a woman. A beautiful woman with long dark brown hair and green eyes and yet the most eye-catching thing was her bright red hood. She looked more like a peaceful civilian than a werewolf but Hook had learned a long time ago that nothing ever was what it appeared to be. At least under most circumstances. He winked at the woman who rolled her eyes. Funny, usually they blushed or fluttered their lashes or in some really rare cases they even winked back at him. But they never - _never_ - rolled their eyes at him. And yet in this castle with these people it seemed to be common practice. Looked like he couldn't charm his way out of here. But if it didn't go the peaceful way he would just have to fight his way out of here.

A sharp tug on the rope around his wrists reminded him that right now he was just a prisoner and he didn't have his hook. So the first thing to do was to get it back and then he would make an escape. He would wait a few days, just to cozy them along, just to make them think they were in control. When the full moon night was over he would escape. Not today. Not tomorrow. But _soon_.

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_The Queen has created a powerful curse. Soon you'll all be in a prison, just like me, only worse! Your prison - __**all**__ of our prisons - will be __**time**__. And time will stop. And we will be trapped, someplace horrible, where everything we hold dear, everything we love will be ripped from us while we suffer for all eternity, while the Queen celebrates, __**victorious at last**__! ...No more happy endings_, Rumpelstiltskin's words echoed through her mind. And the only solution was to send her and her unborn daughter away through a magical wardrobe just to break the curse twenty-eight years later. Snow let out a deep sigh, running her hands over her big baby bump, feeling Emma moving inside her as if to ease her tension. Twenty-eight years were so long. She closed her green orbs, tears pricking behind her eyelids. Twenty-eight years without Charming, twenty-eight years without her one true love. But she would have her daughter. They would have each other and when the curse would be broken they would be a family again. They would be together in the end. Snow let out a quiet sob, sinking down against the balcony doorway. She kept her eyes closed but the tears still streamed down her face. Twenty-eight years. In twenty-eight years she would be almost sixty and her daughter would be her age. And when the curse really froze the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest in time her own husband would be the age of their daughter. She couldn't leave him behind. Not after all they'd been through. She couldn't _be_ without him, never again.

"Snow?"

She heard him approach but she didn't find the strength in herself to even look at him. She heard him shuffle, he'd crouched in front of her, his hands tugging at hers, trying to pull them away from her eyes.

"Snow, what's wrong? Is Emma alright?"

He sounded so worried, so caring. She couldn't bear it. Her eyes snapped open, she snatched her hands away from his grip and got to her feet as quickly as her baby bump allowed it. Charming remained in front of her, on his knees, looking up at her,

"Snow? Tell me."

A desperate smile appeared on her lips and she buried her hands in his dark blond hair, caressing his scalp gently.

"I can't do this without you."

Charming leaned forward until his head was pressed against her stomach softly.

"It has to be you," he answered softly.

"I'm not leaving you," she whispered, her voice too weak to speak louder without it breaking.

"It's the only way. You'll go in there and you'll be safe from the curse."

Snow sobbed again, tugging at his hair lightly, signaling him to get up and he rose immediately taking her in his arms.

"He said it would be on her twenty-eighth birthday," she whimpered, her face buried in his white shirt.

"What's twenty-eight years when you have eternal love? I have faith. You will save me as I did you."

His hands pulled her face away from his chest tenderly, then cupping it carefully. He pressed his lips against hers softly, lovingly and muffled her sobs with his lips. Slowly she began to relax again, her tears drying out. His lips were caressing hers so tenderly and he tasted of love and a bright future. When they broke apart they pressed their foreheads against one another's.

"We still have time," Charming said suddenly. "We could still try to stop Regina."

"The future is written. We can't change it," she replied brokenly.

"Do you really believe that?"

She shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know. I just know that I don't want to be without you."

"And I don't want to be without you either."

Their gazes locked and they stared into each other's eyes for a long time, trying to figure something out, trying to find another way.

"You majesties, I am sorry to disturb you but he has tried it again."

The Royal Couple turned around to face the knight in the entrance to their chamber. He gave them a crooked smile and a shrug.

"You would think by know Hook knows there's no way for him to get to Regina's castle."

Snow's and Charming's head jerked around until they faced each other again.

"Hook," they said at the same time, breathlessly.

"Excuse me?" the guard asked confused but Snow just smiled at him kindly.

"Would you be so kind to bring the pirate to the throne room? We need to talk to him."

The knight nodded slowly, a frown on his face.

"I'll go and get him."

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When they walked into the throne room Hook was already there, arms tied together behind his back with a thick rope, his face distorted in anger. A guard to his left one to his right, both of them holding the struggling captain in place.

"You can't keep me here forever," the pirate snapped as soon as he saw the King and the Queen.

"Actually we can," Charming said, a somewhat satisfied smirk on his lips.

Hook rolled his ice blue eyes, his movements becoming less and less angry until he stopped struggling. His gaze clung to the couple which didn't move to sit on the throne, instead they stopped in front of him, barely three feet away from the pirate, Snow standing before her husband, both of them eyeing him both curiously and pensively.

"_What_?" Hook growled in a low voice.

The Queen exchanged a quick glance with her husband. He gave her a curt nod which Hook wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been looking for it.

"There maybe is a way you can get out of here. You just have to do something for us," the Queen said calmly, tilting her head to the side, trying to gauge his reaction.

"And what would that be?" the pirate sneered.

"You'd have to stop Regina from casting the curse."

For a moment Hook looked baffled, then he began to laugh. It was a cold, humorless laugh that was just as fake as his smiles.

Even though Snow felt like it she didn't flinch. Instead she crossed her arms in front of her chest, both of her eyebrows arched.

"What's so funny?"

"Me? Stopping the _Evil Queen_ from casting the curse everyone is talking about? Darling, I think you don't understand. When the curse takes over this realm and takes everyone to a world with _no happy endings_, with no _**magic**_, why would I want to stop it from happening? Once the curse is cast I will be able to take my revenge on the crocodile. Why would I want to take away my chance on vengeance?"

The couple exchanged another quick glance.

"For the same reason you try to escape from prison. Because you think that _maybe_ you can take your revenge here."

Hook swallowed hard, his brows furrowed, his features torn between anger and curiosity.

"What are you implying?" he asked, his voice rough.

"That there is a way you can get your revenge here."

The pirate laughed his humorless laugh again.

"And how, if you don't mind my asking."

Snow White took a deep breath.

"The Dark One's dagger. We know where it is."

Hook tilted his head to one side, shifting his weight and watching them warily.

"And why would you tell me its whereabouts?"

"You could take it as a _reward_ for your help in stopping Regina," Charming said.

"How _exactly_ am I supposed to stop the witch?"

Relief flooded over Snow like a tidal wave, leaving a pleasant tingle of hope in her veins. Maybe they could do it after all. Her hand found Charming's without any further ado, their fingers entwining naturally.

"Maybe you can just talk sense to her. She cannot want to live in a world without magic, without _power_. Maybe you can persuade her to stop this insanity."

"And why would you _trust_ me with this task?"

Snow's green eyes found his in an instant.

"Because you are our last hope."

He watched her intently, trying to figure her out. But he couldn't. He was no mind reader. But there was one thing so clearly displayed on the Queen's face that it was impossible to misread. _Honesty._

"And who says you won't betray me when I succeed in fulfilling this task?"

For a moment Snow looked honestly offended.

"We are heroes! We don't lie!"

Hook watched her again thoughtfully, then he shot a short glance at Charming before looking back at the pregnant Queen.

"I will do it. On two conditions."

"Which would be?"

"One. I want my revenge. No matter what. Two. I want my hook back."

The Royal Couple exchanged another glance.

"That we can do."

"Well then, let's waste no time. I suppose you don't want to give birth to a child in a world dominated by war."

Immediately Snow's free hand went to her stomach as if to protect her unborn child from any harm.

"It would be a relief to know that we don't have to fear Regina's actions anymore," she said.

Hook nodded, his features suddenly growing softer.

"No one would want their child to grow up in a world riven by war," he said, his voice not filled with anger and menace anymore, but with sincerity and even a hint of sadness.

Both, the King and the Queen were surprised by his show of honesty. But the moment was over as soon as it had come.

"Now, would you be so kind and tell your guards to untie me and give me back my hook, your majesties," he continued quickly, his voice again playful.

They both nodded approvingly.

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Of course the King and the Queen didn't send him off by himself. And there was no quiet Chinese warrior woman next to him this time. No, Mulan was long gone, back to the palace of her friends. This time his companion was the wolf woman with the red hood. Traveling with her was... _different_. It wasn't that she talked the whole time but her presence alone made him slightly uncomfortable. After all she was a werewolf and the way she looked at him made him pretty uneasy. There was some curiosity in her gaze mixed with a quite threat that should stop him from running away. Not that he intended to run after all not when she eyed him like that. When he gave someone his word he intended to keep it. Even after he became Captain Hook this one thing of Killian Jones remained. And after all if this task would take him closer to fulfilling his own quest why should he want to jeopardize it?

"You don't intend to betray us, are you, Hook?" the wolf girl asked suddenly.

"Wouldn't think of it" he replied with another fake smirk.

"Of course not," she said sarcastically.

She shot him a, literally, wolfish grin, her green eyes shimmering with as much amusement as with distrust.

"If you try to betray us or try to run away without completing your task I will hunt you down and I won't have to wait until the next full moon to find you."

He eyed her up and down before shooting her a suggestive smirk.

"Is that a promise, love?" he asked winking.

"More like a threat."

"Oh, feisty!"

The wolf woman rolled her eyes again while Hook smirked wildly. It was fun to tease women especially when they reacted like her.

"Come on now, pirate, we are almost there. Just over there."

The woods they have wandered through cleared slowly, revealing a wide path that lead directly to the Dark Palace. The werewolf looked around carefully, then she nodded in Hook's direction.

"Go. I will wait right here. And don't you _dare_ to betray us. Otherwise you can forget about the dagger."

For a moment Hook held her gaze, then he gave her a court nod.

"I'll be back."

Then he held out his stump.

"My hook, if you please."

The woman rolled her eyes reaching for something hidden in the folds of her red skirt. When she pulled back she held his sharp iron attachment in her hand. He smirked at her, taking the hook and turning it until it clicked in its rightful place.

"Thank you, darling. I'll see you soon."

With that he turned around and walked away, her eyes following all the time.

"I hope so," she murmured underneath her breath.

.

.

They could've just let him go to her chambers instead of catching him two rooms away from hers to _then_ take him to her chambers. The guards shoved him harshly into the Evil Queen's room, where she was sitting at some kind of beauty table, her raven hair perfectly in place, her dress dark blue, with a generous cleavage, her lips painted in a dark sensual red. When he was shoved into the room the Evil Queen got up, making a movement with her hand, magically removing his hook and letting it reappear in her own hand. Hook rolled his eyes, annoyed by the latest habit of random people to steal his hook.

"My hook, if you please," he growled in annoyance.

"No," she replied nonchalantly.

"The asking was me being a gentleman."

The Evil Queen smiled at him maliciously, yet at the same time contemptuously.

"Is that a any way to address a queen? Even a pirate should have better manners than that."

Hook shot her a surprised gaze and she turned back to her table pouring her and him a drink, handing one to Hook. She leaned forward, closer to him until their faces were merely inches apart.

"Yes... I know who you are... Captain. I know why you came here from Neverland. And I know all about the crocodile you wish to skin."

He suppressed the urge to raise his eyebrows at her remark about Neverland. Obviously she wasn't really up-to-date and she didn't know about the last two months he spent in Snow and Charming's prison. For a moment he considered his next actions before deciding to listen to the plan the Queen obviously had.

"Then you also know that I'll stop at nothing."

She nodded, her red lips turned into a smile.

"So dedicated and resourceful. No one has been able to fight their way past my defenses before. So I assume you know that I can help you kill Rumpelstiltskin. Of course just if you do something for me too."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"And how will you do that?"

The Queen took a few steps away from him before turning back, the same manipulative smile plastered on her lips.

"Things are about to change in this world. Radically. I have plans to enact a curse that will take everyone to a far-off land."

Nothing new to him, not at all. And even though a part of him was tempted to take the easy way out and just take the Queen's way he would stick to the plan. He would try to convince her not to cast the curse. He would just listen to what she was going to say.

"How will that help me?" he asked, just a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"This new realm? It's a land without magic. Where the Dark One will be stripped of his powers. There, you won't need any magical weapon to kill him. You can do it with a mere flick of your wrist."

_A flick of his wrist._ It sounded so tempting. So _bloody_ tempting. Just a little bit more information wouldn't hurt.

"Tell me what I have to do."

"There's one person I don't want following me to this new land. You're to see to it that doesn't happen."

"An assassination. Who is it you want me to dispose of?"

His eyes flickered to hers and when she opened her mouth again he knew it was too late. The temptation was to great and he gave in, reminding himself that killing the crocodile was the only thing of importance, the sooner the better.

"My mother."

She handed him back his hook, which was glowing golden.

"It's now... Enchanted. It will enable you to rip out her heart. I believe you've seen it done before."

He let out a humorless, pained laugh.

"Yes," he said coldly.

"The enchantment will only allow you to rip out one heart, so make sure you do it right."

He clicked his hook back into place.

"What could she have possibly done to warrant such brutality?"

For a moment the Evil Queen hesitated.

"That's my business," she finally said. "Yours is to kill her and bring her body back to me."

Hook snorted.

"Easy enough. When will I set forth on this murderous journey?"

The Queen smiled almost sweetly.

"Immediately. But you won't be going alone."

"Wouldn't anyone else slow me down?"

"Not when it's a dead man."

His eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Forgive me, but isn't that a bit of a dead weight?"

The Evil Queen made an impatient noise before looking back at the pirate with big brown, annoyed eyes.

"I banished my mother to a far-off land some time ago. You're going to need a portal to get back to her."

The Queen smiled and returned to her table, opening the only box standing on it. She pulled out a large black top hat, giving it an appreciative look.

"The rules are simple - one goes in, one comes back. Or, in this case, two in, two back. You'll arrive with somebody and you'll return with my mother."

Hook nodded, then he looked up, a curious and slightly wary look on his face.

"Now tell me... Which far-off land do I have the pleasure visiting today?"

The Evil Queen smiled widely at him, kneeling down, the hat in her hands.

"Wonderland."

"Happily named, I'm sure. How will I find her?"

The Queen started spinning the head.

"Don't worry, she will find you," she grinned as the hat grew wider and wider, creating a purple vortex behind.

When he jumped through the portal he felt a sting of guilt running through his body but the guilt disappeared as soon as it had come. He had his eyes set on his revenge and he wouldn't look away from it.

.

.

The house the looking glass led him to was filled to the brim with _hats_. There were so many of them that Hook had a hard time even locating the exit - he didn't even want to think about getting there. Slowly he made his way through the shelves, looking left and right, taking in all the different headdresses. No hat looked like the other. They were different heights, different colors, different forms. Some of them weren't even fully done yet, standing incomplete on the table in the middle of the room. While it had been midday back in the Enchanted Forest here in Wonderland it was daybreak, sunbeams illuminated the room, letting it shine with a thousand different colors. On the edge of the table with all the other hats there was a black top hat that got hit by the sunlight in just the right angle that everyone who entered the house had to look at it immediately.

The hat had a surprisingly big resemblance to the one that the Queen had used to get him where he was now. Hook remembered the rumors he had heard about the house's owner. _The Mad Hatter_. Some crazy bloke who was looking for a way back to his realm. So whatever. He had to get to the Queen's mother. He took a step forward, the cart with the dead body the Queen gave him to get two persons through the portal rattling behind him silently. He made his way to the exit but he didn't come very far before a sharp tool pressed against his throat.

"What are you doing in my place with a dead body? I'm sure it's not about the hats!" a voice whispered in his ear.

The captain straightened.

"So I suppose you are the mad hatter?" he replied calmly.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Just _who_ would like to know that?"

He sounded insane. His mind on the very edge of madness about to fall, to tumble into the darkness to never be free again. Madness had her cold fingers around his neck and was about to choke him, she was pulling him under trying to drown him. For a moment Hook felt pity towards the stranger but the unwelcomed feeling disappeared as soon as it had come when the pressure of the tool - _a_ _scissor_, he noticed - on his throat tightened, the sharp edge pressing into his skin. There was not much more pressure needed until his skin would break.

"A captain."

"From where?" the Hatter growled.

One of the Hatter's hands found its way into Hook's hair pulling it backwards, the scissor still at his throat.

"Enchanted Forest," the pirate gasped out.

All of a sudden the Hatter's grip loosened, the hand in his hair disappeared and the stranger turned him around until Hook faced him, the scissor still pressed to his throat. The Mad Hatter was about his height, his eyes brown and messy and his blue eyes radiated the madness inside his head. He wore a scarf but Hook could see the scar that ran around his neck. When he tried to raise his hook the Hatter's free hand caught it in midair.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I would not try that if you want to live," the Hatter chastised him. " Now. _How did you get here_?"

The scissor's blade finally broke his skin and he felt the blood seeping out of the cut. But the Hatter still didn't remove his tool.

"Portal."

The madness flickered in his eyes again.

"Through a hat?"

"Maybe," Hook gasped.

The pain of the cut slowly got through his brain. It started pulsing, the blood still dripped down his throat slowly but steadily. He tried to clear his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down nervously.

"If you would be so kind to remove _this_" - his eyes flickered down to the scissor - "I can tell you what you want to hear."

The Hatter moved a step closer, the blade cutting a little bit deeper into his skin.

"I don't want you to tell me what I want to hear. I want you to tell me _the truth_! And if you don't you won't leave."

His voice was laced with madness and silent threats and Hook couldn't do anything else then nod. He didn't care about his life, not at all. But he couldn't afford losing it before he took his revenge and if that meant to tell the Hatter the truth... Well, he could have had worse.

"Aye, the truth."

The Hatter removed the scissor from his throat and before he knew what was happening to him he was sitting in a chair on the opposite of the stranger.

"Try to use your hook against me and the scissor will be in your neck and you will be dead on the floor."

Hook shot him a fake grin.

"You don't need to be hostile. I will tell you the truth. Just ask."

There was another spark of madness inside his eyes before it slowly seemed to subside, fading away until it was buried deep inside the depths of his blue eyes.

"How did you come here?"

Hook leaned back in the chair, his hand wandering to his throat, his fingers moving along the cut, feeling the warm blood slowly starting to stop running.

"Through a hat. I suppose it was yours?"

The Hatter nodded approvingly.

"Did _she_ send you?"

"She? The Evil Queen?"

The house owner let out a short maniacally laughter.

"Yeah... The _Evil_ Queen. You know she wasn't always evil. It's partly my fault she is now. If I haven't listened to the Dark One she-"

The Hatter had started babbling seemingly incoherently and Hook had just listened with half an ear but when the crocodile's name fell he straightened immediately.

"What does the crocodile have to do with all of this?"

The Hatter frowned.

"The Dark One. What does the Dark One have to do with all of this?"

"Fate. Fate. It was all about fate. The future. We had to made her evil. We had to let him stay dead. I lost everything. Grace, my Grace, my lovely Grace."

Hook looked at him in surprise.

"You have a family?"

"A daughter. My wife died. I left her. I left my beautiful Grace."

For a moment the madness in his eyes fully disappeared.

"I should have chosen my family over money."

There was a moment of silence between them. Thick, heavy silence that seemed impenetrable. Their eyes met and Hook was surprised that the Mad Hatter didn't seem mad at all. Hook saw everything. He saw the broken man in front of him who had lost _everything_. Hook cleared his throat and ripped the Hatter out of his reverie.

"I'm sorry but I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Why are you here anyway?"

"The Evil Queen asked me to bring someone to her. Dead."

The Hatter's brows shot up in surprise.

"Who?"

"Her mother."

"Who is she?"

Hook shrugged.

"I don't have a clue."

"Well then. You, you could just go back. You could take me with you! You could get me back to her! I could get back to my daughter. Grace, my precious Grace."

The pirate shifted his weight in his seat uncomfortably, running his fingers through his messy black hair.

"I'm sorry, mate, but I can't take you. Two in, two out."

"Don't you have family? Someone you love and you need to get back to?"

His features turned cold as he remembered. Milah was dead and all that was left from her was his need for revenge. Baelfire refused to be at his side. He hadn't anyone to get back to. Not anymore. It was all gone. _Gone_.

"No," he simply said.

The Hatter tilted his head to the side, watching him curiously, understanding shimmering in his eyes. He was still mad in some way but the madness didn't have the upper hand. He understood Hook because _he_ had lost everything too.

"You lost them?"

Hook looked up at him from underneath his lashes, the look in his eyes broken. The Hatter extended his hand.

"I'm Jefferson. But here in Wonderland I am the Mad Hatter."

Hook hesitated then he shook Jefferson's hand.

"Killian Jones. But most people have taken to call me by my more colorful moniker. Hook."

They shook hands.

"So, Jones. What are you really doing here?"

Hook sighed, running his hand over his face tiredly. It has been far too long since anyone had called him by his real name. Being called "Jones" made him feel more like a man again than the monster he had become.

"Taking a step closer to my revenge."

"On who? The Dark One?"

The pirate nodded.

"Why, if you don't mind my asking."

"He killed my love. He deserves the death."

Jefferson laughed maniacally.

"He deserves worse."

This time the silence was far more comfortable than the first one but again the Hatter was the one who broke it.

"Why are you trying to kill Regina's mother then?"

"She said if I kill her she will help me to take my revenge."

"You believe her?"

"I'm not quite sure but it's the easy way."

Jefferson's eyebrows shot up.

"The easy way? Is there a hard way too?"

"Well... If I can stop the Evil Queen with talking I could get my revenge _and_ stay in the Enchanted Forest. But to convince someone from taking their revenge is impossible. I know that better than most."

"Do you?"

"Revenge is everything I live for. I can't just give up on it and so can't she."

For a moment Jefferson thought about that.

"Why did you go to the Queen then? Who talked you into trying to stop her?"

"You're quiet clever, aren't you, Jefferson?"

The Hatter smiled at the pirate, who shot him a quick fake smirk before his features turned serious again.

"There was this couple. They said they could help me obtain the Dark One's dagger. That way I could get my revenge _and_ stay in the Enchanted Forest."

"I suppose they are good."

"They are. And they only gave me this opportunity because she is with child."

"Why should they want your help? You're - as far as I can judge - a villain."

"The Evil Queen is about to cast a curse that takes all of the Enchanted Forest's inhabitants to a place without magic. They don't want their child to grow up there. I suppose there is more behind it but I'm not quite sure what it is."

"The things we do for our children..." Jefferson said melancholically.

Again they fell silent for a few heartbeats but this time Hook was the one to break the silence.

"So... Your daughter's name is Grace?"

"Yes. And I need to get back to her, that's why I need you to take me with you."

"I can't."

"Have you ever thought about taking the hard way? The hard way is often the right one."

"Aye. And the one impossible to take. How could I stop her from taking the curse anyway?"

"You can't. But maybe her mother can. And I have an idea how we can make her help us so we both can get back home. So you're in?"

Jefferson extended his hand again. Hook looked at it for a few moments before he looked back into Jefferson's eyes again. They exchanged a long glance. _Family_. The one thing Hook always wanted to have and yet never could get. Not with Milah and not with Baelfire. Who was he to take Jefferson's daughter away from him? How was he to let an innocent child suffer the fate of being born into a cruel world? Not two hours ago he wouldn't have cared. He still didn't. But the encounter with Jefferson triggered something inside him. He wasn't the one to judge about what those people deserved. Instead of taking Regina's easy way out he would try to walk down the hard path. He could make it. He could be good for once. And when that was done he would get his revenge. But for this one time he had to think about the greater good. Just this once he would be Killian Jones again instead of Captain Hook. _Just this once_.

"I'm in," he said, taking the Hatter's still outstretched hand in his and shaking it.

.

.

Wonderland was a very curious place. Most of the ground looked like a gigantic chessboard but instead of black and white the squares were of brown with light yellow dots and yellow with red dots, the dots of various sizes. It didn't take a long time for the Mad Hatter and Captain Hook until they found themselves confronted with a huge hedge maze. The high green hedge was surrounded by a white brick wall which was about seven feet high. On top of the rectangular hedge there were crowns and hearts, implying who the owner of this place was. _The Queen of Hearts_.

"So you say the Evil Queen's mother is the _Queen of Hearts_?"

Jefferson next to him nodded.

"Back in our land her name was Cora. It is said that when she got here Wonderland was even weirder. Even though Cora is reigning this realm with an iron rigor and very strict rules she kind of brought some system in this weird place. She makes the rules and the rules are cruel. But as long as you stay out of the Queen's way you are safe. Mad but safe. This place does weird things to your mind. Crazy things, _mad_ things. Mad, mad, mad..."

Hook nudged the Hatter in the side. Since they had been on their way Jefferson had some trouble staying in the real world. All the years in Wonderland had taken their toll on the poor man, making him lose his mind over and over again, every time he got a grip on reality again all he could think about was getting back to Grace and then he started working again, trying to create a magical hat but failed. And with every failure sanity slipped away from him time and time again. Right now the pirate next to him was the only thing that kept him in reality.

"Jefferson, don't let the madness get a hold of you again. If you want to go back to your daughter you have to focus."

The Hatter sobered up again almost immediately.

"Right, Grace. I have to get back to Grace."

They stopped in front of the maze's entrance.

"So, how do we do this?" Hook asked, his hand and hook on his belt.

Jefferson turned to him, an almost insane smile grazing his lips.

"Just follow me. We have to get to the heart of the maze."

"That's where she hides it then?"

"It is. We will find it right there."

They entered the maze, the Hatter leading them straight to the center of it without hesitating at any corner for even a second. They walked for two hours in which Hook learned about everything about what the Mad Hatter did to Regina to cause her to become who she was today and Hook learned not only about the Mad Hatter, but also about Jefferson, his Grace, how the loss of his wife, who had been from another realm, had made him give up his occupation so he could be there for his daughter all the time. How Regina had tricked him to come with him and how he could not even be angry at her because he it was partly his fault that she was the Evil Queen, he had actively participated in breaking the sweet innocent girl. The world had broken Jefferson, made him lose sanity and become the Mad Hatter.

The world had broken Hook too. Milah's death and Bae's rejection, his many failures in Neverland. But where Jefferson had found his release in madness, Hook had found it in hatred.

The encounter with Jefferson hadn't changed his need for revenge. But when he had heard him and Snow talking about children he immediately thought of Milah and Bae and how desperately he wished he would have had a chance with them. All he ever wanted had been a family and not even the love of his life had given it to him. Who was he to deny anyone else this luck? He would get his revenge sooner or later and if he could help Jefferson or the Charming's to get to be with their children, to be a _family_ he bloody well would. Even if that meant he would get his revenge rather later than sooner. So he would do the right thing, he would go the right way, even if it meant to take the hard way.

In the middle of the maze there was something like a clearing and in the center of that "clearing" there was a white marble building with a big green door, a golden dome on top of it. And on top of the dome there was a big red heart. Hook looked over at Jefferson shortly, his gaze skeptical and focused on the building in front of him.

"So this is-?"

He left the sentence unfinished but the Hatter understood him still.

"Yes. This is her vault. Somewhere in there is her heart."

Hook's head jerked around until he looked at Jefferson again.

"What does that mean? You don't _know_ where it is?"

Jefferson took his hat off and twirled it in his hands once, twice. Then he shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know _exactly_. But I _know_ it is somewhere in _there_."

With a low sigh Hook stepped closer to the vault, trying opening its door in a sudden movement. When the green door didn't give away he used his hook and with a click the door swung open. Thousands of square boxes came into view. Hook and the Hatter exchanged a quick look.

"Well, let's start with the first and end with the last," Jefferson suggested and Hook rolled his eyes.

The Mad Hatter shrugged.

"I mean, there is nothing more we can do, is it?"

The pirate opened one box then another and another and another then he stopped and smirked.

"If there is one thing I learned from my three-hundred years of being a pirate it is that _everyone_ has a system, as chaotic as it may be. So has she."

He opened one of the upper boxes and looked inside it just to find a beating, glowing red heart. He froze at the sight of it but he quickly caught himself, looking through the whole upper section, finding hundreds of hearts, leaving the boxes standing open. His heartbeat quickened, his stomach twisting in knots. All the ripped out hearts. All the people, dead or controlled.

"And how are we going to figure out which is _hers_?"

"You won't."

The voice startled both of them and they spun around, facing a woman in a red and white dress, a silvery crown on her head, a ruby in its center. She had brown her and wore red gloves, her brown eyes shimmering with menace.

"Your majesty," the Hatter said and immediately kneeled before her.

"Hatter, what a _surprise_," the Queen of Hearts said, sounding not surprised at all.

Then she turned her attention to Hook.

"But... I don't know you... But I swear to you you won't find what you are here for."

The Queen of Hearts disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke just to reappear right in front of him. Jefferson looked up from the floor to Hook, who gave him curt almost unnoticeable nod.

"But we'll take a closer look at you," she said, running her gloved over his chest.

Then she plunged it into his chest, grabbing his heart in his hand and squeezed. The pain was so overwhelming that Hook went to his knees. He closed his eyes, an image forming in front of his inner eyes. Dark curls, blue eyes. _Milah_, his beloved Milah. She had felt this too. For a short, painful moment he felt close to her again, as if the pain somehow connected them even through death. When the pain suddenly stopped he felt Milah's memory slipping away from him again, still clear as the sun but then again blurry and barely reachable. He missed her. He missed her so much. When the pain subsided completely he wished for a short moment that she would have just ripped his heart out and crushed it to dust. Perhaps that would have hurt less than the feeling of the reality crashing down on him again.

Hook opened his ice blue eyes to find the Queen of Hearts clutching the place where her heart should be, her face twisted in pain. He looked over at Jefferson to find him with a baffled look on his face and the Queen's heart in his hand.

"Shall I?" the Mad Hatter asked and the pirate nodded.

With that Jefferson took a step forward and pushed his hand into the Queen's chest. When he removed it again the woman lost her halt and fell to the floor, her hands stretched out in front of her to stop her from colliding with the ground completely. She gasped for air and when she lifted her gaze again her hair looked tussled and the coldness of her gaze was gone. Instead there was fear and doubt.

"Will you kill me?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Hook shrugged nonchalantly.

"That's what I'm here for, actually."

Cora's eyes widened in fear and she stumbled back to her feet, but as she tried to take a step back Jefferson was right behind her, keeping her in place. Hook ran his ringed fingers over his Hook, letting metal cling against metal. Then he sighed.

"But I won't."

"What will you do to me then?"

Hook exchanged a look with Jefferson. They had talked about that.

"Take you to your daughter."

Cora gasped, her eyes suddenly shimmering with unshed tears.

"Regina? How is she?"

"You will find out once we are back in the Enchanted Forest."

"But," Jefferson intervened quickly. "You have to do something for us first."

"Everything," Cora replied almost immediately.

"You know how the hat works?"

The former heartless Queen of Hearts nodded.

"One in, one out."

Jefferson took in a quick shaky breath, trying to calm himself.

"You are still a magician. The reason no one ever tried to break this rule is because no one wants to risk the hat. But maybe your magic is strong enough to transport the three of us back to the Enchanted Forest."

Cora cocked her head to the side, thinking about Jefferson's argument. Hook felt his heart pounding quickly in his chest. He didn't want to think about what would happen if it didn't work. Luckily he didn't have to.

"It would destroy the hat but I think I could do it."

"Then let's get to the looking glass."

Jefferson and Hook started to walk again but Cora quickly grabbed their wrists.

"We can do it my way," she said with a small smile on her lips and they all disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

The next time they blinked they stood in front of the mirror, ready to step into it and return home.

"You ready, your majesty?" Hook asked mockingly.

"I'm no Queen. I'm just the mother of one," Cora replied pushing Jefferson through the portal.

She closed her eyes focusing on the thing she wanted the most. Get back to her daughter. Tell her how sorry she was. Tell her that she loved her, that she was enough, that she had always been enough, then she stepped through the looking glass to the same moment Hook did.

The moment Cora and Hook entered the hat room the destruction began. First there were some sparks then flames started to lick at the doors, soon burning them to ashes, the ground crumbled underneath them, the floor fell into an everlasting endless darkness. Ash was flying through the air, smoke taking away the air.

They started to run, to get closer to Jefferson who already waited for them at the door that would lead them back to the Enchanted Forest. The fire and the darkness were right behind them, only mere feet away and ready to swallow them the moment they slowed down. Suddenly Cora stumbled, lost her balance and fell. It was up to Hook, doing the right thing or continue running. He made a decision he was sure he would regret later, quickly he helped Regina's mother up, pushing her forwards, losing the precious time he would have needed to get to the door. In the blink of an eye he was circled by flames with no way out but the one door right behind him.

"Hook!"

He looked forward, at Jefferson and Cora, the two people who _had_ to get back there, to their families. He could wait. He had already spend a lot of time waiting. One or two years more, what would be the difference, he would get his revenge eventually, _hopefully_.

"Go, I will find a way to skin my crocodile, you have family to get back to!" he yelled over the flames.

Jefferson gave him a thankful smile, then he entered the door that led back to their home, Cora following him immediately. The flames burned higher and higher, the smoke became thicker and thicker, making it hard - almost impossible - for him to breathe. The flames already started eating through his leather coat, finding the skin underneath it, burning it terribly. The hat room crumbled around him and he knew, if he didn't take the door he would die. Everything would have been for nothing. _He couldn't let this happen. _So he pulled the next door open without paying great attention to it. He didn't care to which realm it would take him. Not at all.

The door fell shut behind him in the moment the hat room disappeared in complete darkness, lost in the great nothing. There was no way back.

.

.

The Evil Queen paced through her room impatiently, waiting for Hook to emerge from the hat, her dead mother in tow. She had her reasons for wanting her dead. She couldn't afford to have Cora with her because her mere presence would weaken her. She loved her mother even after everything she had done to her. Cora had killed Daniel, her true love - and when she had the chance to have it again she rejected it to hold onto her revenge.

A sudden noise made her spin around. A cough. A _female_ cough. Two figures stepped out of a burning hat. And Hook was neither of them. Rage filled her in an instant, the magic fire appeared in one of her hands immediately, ready to kill both of the intruders. But she waited. She waited a second too long. The fire in her hand was gone with a flick of her mother's wrist, the smoke cleared and the Evil Queen found herself face to face with her mother.

She looked different. Of course she still wore those pompous dresses, this time a red and white one, but her hair was open and tussled and the look on her face was everything but cold. Regina knew her mother. She knew the cold, distant woman who she loved dearly but who didn't seem to love her back, doing everything for her daughter's best without caring what the girl really wanted. But the tender smile on Cora's face was full of warmth and love.

"Regina," she whispered and took a step closer.

The Evil Queen stood there frozen, watching her mother approach her until she stood right in front of her. Tentatively Cora lifted her hand and cupped her daughter's face. Regina closed her eyes, feeling the change in her mother more than seeing it.

"Mother," she whispered.

Cora pulled her forward until she had wrapped her daughter in her arms, holding on for dear life.

"I'm so sorry," Cora whispered, holding her daughter even tighter. "I am so sorry for everything I have ever done to you."

Her gentle words pushed Regina over the edge. The Evil Queen let out a whimper, then she wrapped her arms around her mother too, tears streaming down her face.

"I love you," Cora whispered into her ear.

Sobbing Regina pressed her face into her mother's shoulder. After all these years she had finally heard the words she needed to hear. She had needed the love of a mother and had never gotten it because Cora had been incapable of love because she had had no heart. And somehow she had gotten it back.

"I love you too, mother," Regina replied, tears still streaming down her face.

For the first time in _far_ too long she didn't feel hate for anyone or anything. She felt safe and she felt a spark of hope and happiness inside her that she never wanted to let go again. After all those years she had found her mother, truly found her and not just the cold shell she had left behind when she had ripped her own heart out.

Regina had a mother now. _She was loved_.

.

.

She gripped his hand so tightly not only her knuckles became white but his whole hand too. Just a little bit tighter and she would probably break his hand. But he didn't care, his wife was having his baby _right know_ and there was no curse in sight. Maybe Hook had made it. They didn't know.

"Push, push," Charming encouraged his wife.

And so she did. It wasn't long until the screams of a baby filled the room, echoing through the whole palace, filling it with new life. Tears of joy streamed down her face as her husband gave her his daughter who was already wrapped in a baby blanket, with the name _Emma_ written on it.

Snow held on to her baby tightly, Charming's arms wrapped around them protectively. They waited for the storm to come but there never came one. Everything remained silent and calm, peaceful. They didn't know what had happened. They didn't want to know. The only thing that mattered was that they were together, a family not about to be separated from anyone.

They didn't know what had happened to Hook. All they knew was that there was no curse, no threat, not any more. And it was because of that pirate.

The night Princess Emma was born was the night Captain Hook vanished into thin air.

* * *

_**A/N: I know it's long and probably filled with mistakes because it is unbetaed but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer.**_

_**Once my amazing beta **Susan94** is through with this chapter I will upload it again, edited, it won't change anything in the story though.**_

_**I hope you still like it, even if it doesn't continue where I left it with the prologue.**_

_**The prologue was the excerpt of one of the last chapters and we have waaaaaaay to go to get there.**_

_**I know I could have mentioned Killian's character developement in a clause but I wanted to show it to you.**_

_**And I know, this chapter is looooong and I don't know if the others will be as long but I didn't want to split this up into two because it's basically just backstory.**_

_**The next chapter will deal with Emma's youth and Killian's time in the other realm,** __then** they will finally meet.**_

_**I hope you stay with me until then and please tell me what you think?**_


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